English 11: Identity and Truth in a Changing World - Home



STATION 2 Defining IdentityAt this station, your group will work together to develop a definition of “identity.”As you are now no doubt aware, throughout the course of the semester we will examine the concept of “identity” within various contexts. Using our core and supplementary texts as vehicles for this exploration, we will look at the way that individuals’ experiences in a complex, globalized world inform the ways in which they see their own identities and their relationship to others in the world around them. In order to explore these issues together, we first need to develop a “common vocabulary” for the discussion of identity.Andy Howe, University of Minnesota, writes: “There is no agreement on a single definition of identity between the fields of psychology or sociology. Researchers and theorists within each field often do not agree on a definition either… The discourse [discussion] within the literature, however, goes much deeper than [arguing over] definition[s]. The disagreement stems from [differences in] fundamental beliefs of what makes an individual an individual.”Often, theorists in the fields of psychology and sociology focus their research on one specific aspect of a person’s experience (e.g. race, gender, behavior, morality) at a time, leading to limited explanations of the development of a person’s identity. For example, according to Howe, “racial identity development models often do not examine the issues of how these models differ between men and women… radically simplify[ing] the human experience. They [single identity development models] create an incomplete and, therefore, inaccurate picture of the multiple layers of identity.”Some basic assumptions we can all agree on (hopefully):Identity is a complicated concept. Therefore, a person’s identity is not easily defined.Identity is a multifaceted and abstract idea. In other words, there are a lot of factors that play into a person’s identity.STEP ONE: Working together with your group, rank the following factors in order of how prominently they factor into an individual’s identity. As a group, decide where to rank each factor, and explain your reasoning on your notebook paper.Race or ethnicityReligionGenderEducation levelSocial classSexual orientationCountry of originOccupationBeliefs/moralityBehaviorSTEP TWO: As a group, decide on a “working definition” of identity. Write this down. Your definition should incorporate the ideas that you discussed in step one. ................
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